The European Film Market 2009 is pleased to report that business was good despite the difficult global economic situation. For Market Director Beki Probst, 2009 “was an EFM of mixed emotions, yet market activity remained stable”.
This year, 408 companies from 55 countries presented their latest films and projects to more than 6,300 international experts in the Martin-Gropius-Bau and the new “EFM Marriott Offices”. 97 companies participated in the Market for the first time. The number of buyers equalled that of last year. During the EFM 2009, 700 films - of which 522 were market premieres - were shown at 1073 screenings.
Beki Probst sums up: “We provided an excellent infrastructure. Our participants were satisfied and our services, well received.”
This was especially true of this year’s innovations and initiatives:
The “EFM Marriott Offices and Stands”, at our new second venue in the Hotel Marriott at Potsdamer Platz, were booked to capacity and evaluated very positively.
Exhibitors, buyers and experts showed great interest in the three “EFM Industry Debates” organized with the Commerzbank, and the magazines Screen International, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. On three consecutive afternoons, some 600 participants discussed opportunities and possible solutions for the film industry during the current financial crisis.
The response to the new EFM initiative “Meet the Docs” was also very positive. Presented in conjunction with the European Documentary Network (EDN), this service was for all professionals with a focus on documentary film.
Overall, at the end of this turbulent Market, the film industry expressed optimism about the future. Variety reported on the eighth day of the EFM, that sellers were reassured, because they were departing from Berlin in the knowledge that “the right projects were still generating healthy interest from buyers”.
More facts and figures of the EFM 2009 are available at www.efm-berlinale.de <http://www.efm-berlinale.de/>
MEDIA OFFICE
Press contact for the European Film Market 2009
Tel. +49-(0)30-88 71 44 0
Edith Kleibel and Silke Lehmann
